When Tim and I still lived close to a Ben and Jerry’s Scoop Shop, our favorite ice cream was without a doubt, Candy Bar Pie. Its components: peanut butter ice cream, pretzel dust swirls, nougat ribbons, and flecks of chocolate chunks. We loved its salty-sweetnes and nice balance of flavors, not to mention that it was one of the few ice creams not overwhelmed by chocolate chips. As you know, getting ice cream at Ben Jerry’s is not cheap, so I looked online for the ingredients, with hopes of re-creating it at home. It was still summer when I tried to do this the first time, and needless to say, the nougat I made was a humid sticky, too-sweet mess. Furthermore, the thought of making nougat, an ice cream base, AND melting chocolate is a bit much to do on a semi-normal basis. The chewiness of the nougat is nice, so maybe someday, but for now, it’s not indispensable.

Even though it’s winter, there’s no bad time for ice cream! This Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice cream is my version of Candy Bar Pie Ice Cream, but without the nougat. Someday, nougat, someday. I like this ice cream a lot because it is easy to make, you can save your eggs for breakfast, there is not too much chocolate, but just enough, and because it is salty-sweet. Sorry, any pretzels that are mixed in during the churning process will obviously absorb moisture from the ice cream and not be crunchy. Make sure you grind up extra pretzels to sprinkle on top right before you eat it!

2) For best results, freeze the ice cream base until it is just starting to harden or form tiny ice crystals.

3) Churn ice cream base in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

4) While the ice cream churns, place your ice cream container of choice in the freezer.

5) Melt the chocolate in a small pan over very low heat, making sure not to burn the chocolate.

6) In the last 5 minutes of churning, add crushed pretzels.

7) Take the container out, and use a chopstick or fork to drizzle some chocolate into the bottom of the container.

8) Transfer the ice cream to the storage container in batches, making sure to drizzle chocolate every so often, until the chocolate is used up.

Substitutions/Notes:

-For the most peanutty taste, make sure you get peanut butter that is just peanuts, or peanuts and salt. Yes, you will need to stir it before you use it, but it is peanut butter in its purest form, and will hence make your ice cream the tastiest.

-Even though there are no eggs in this, the naturally-occurring lecithin in peanuts acts to emulsify the milkfat and water from the cream and milk. The high fat content of the peanut butter also adds to the creaminess sans-eggs.

-Because of the reason above, this stores in the freezer beautifully for days, without getting icy.

-If you want it to be REALLY from-scratch, you can make your own peanut butter, too..

Blend roasted peanuts in a food processor until smooth: Process for 1-2 minutes at a time, stopping to scrape in between rounds.